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Local party leader councillor Ian Barfield said that they made the move because while he disagreed with some of the polices of Labour, they at least had "a clear plan and direction for the future of the borough" while the Conservative party did "not appear to have a plan at all".

Now the move has been heavily criticised by the Tory MP for Cleethorpes Martin Vickers, who has blasted the Lib Dems for "keeping a failing Labour administration in power", and calling the agreement reached by the parties "a coalition of losers".

He said: "I feel sure that voters will be surprised and amazed that the LibDems have teamed up with the biggest losers, namely Labour, at the recent elections. From Scartho to Freshney, Croft Baker to Immingham Labour lost seats‎ and for the LibDems to prop them up is a massive political misjudgement.

"The voters gave their verdict and the two parties should respect that. Will the streets be cleaner, recycling rates improve or the Toll Bar roundabout scheme be abandoned?

"Maybe their first move will be to reconsider Toll Bar. After all you can perform a u-turn at a roundabout but not at traffic lights."

Martin Vickers, Conservative MP for Cleethorpes

The Labour Party increased the number of seats that it held in North East Lincolnshire Council in the recent local election, however decreased their majority in the council chamber to just one seat.

They now hold just one seat more in the chamber than their rivals in the Conservative Party who hold 18.

The Tories garnered over 6,000 more votes than labour in the election, but only 29 per cent of voters actually went to the polls, and the Conservatives' excess in votes primarily came from their strongholds in the Wolds, Waltham, and New Waltham and Humberston.